1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to sporting equipment and more specifically to batting cages for use by baseball players in practicing batting skills.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the most worthwhile skills that can be practiced by a baseball player is his batting skill. Many hours are spent in batting practice not only by the sophisticated players associated with the professional leagues but also the players associated with the children's leagues. In the professional leagues, mechanical ball throwing machines such as that disclosed by Halstead in U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,437, are used to repeatedly and individually hurl a plurality of baseballs into proximity to the practicing batter. These machines are particularly desirable for use in batting practice since they throw the baseballs with a high degree of accuracy. Furthermore, these machines are adjustable in both height and velocity to provide excellent control over the course of the baseball.
These ball throwing machines can be used in cooperation with a batting practice cage such as that disclosed by Flaugh in U.S. Pat. No. 1,591,753. It will be noted that this batting practice cage functions much as a pair of fences having a hood supported therebetween. Although this batting practice cage is portable, there is no restriction on the travel of the baseball in the outward direction. Furthermore, the portability provided by the wheels 27 of the Flaugh cage is restricted generally to a single baseball field. It is not at all adapted for being towed by a truck on a highway between widely spaced baseball fields.
The batting cages of the past have also included ball return means such as that disclosed by Mainers in U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,613. The floor of this batting cage slopes gently from the practicing batter to a trough in proximity to the ball throwing machine. Balls on the floor of this batting cage tend to roll into the trough where they are automatically retrieved and fed into the ball throwing machine. It will be noted that this particular batting cage is not at all portable. It is therefore representative of many of the prior art batting cages which, although they perform a significantly advantageous function, are permanently located at a single position.
It can be seen from the aforementioned patents that the machinery associated with the batting cages of the prior art is particularly complex and therefore quite expensive. For this reason, it is understandable that practice batting cages of this type are normally found only in the major professional leagues.
In order to sharpen the batting skills of the baseball players in the children's leagues, one of the team members, such as a pitcher, is used to repeatedly throw baseballs into the vicinity of a practicing batter. This manner of practice is particularly tiring to the pitcher and can result in injury to his arm. Furthermore, with an understandable lack of skill on the part of the pitcher, the accuracy of the pitching leaves a great deal to be desired. A child, out of mere frustration, will develop bad habits swinging at poorly pitched balls. As a result, this form of batting practice may not be particularly beneficial.
What has been needed in some means for enabling the less sophisticated child players to benefit from the relatively expensive batting practice machinery, a means which does not require a significant initial investment but which can be paid for in small increments by each parent, for example.